Dbq on Absolutism and Democracy

There were many forms of government through the 17th and 18th century. Two forms of government that were used a lot were democracy and absolutism. The form of government during these centuries that was most effective was democracy.

Many rulers used absolutism in their countries. They believed rulers should have complete control over the country. Prince Machiavelli believed the best way to rule was to be feared and thought that the only way people would listen to him was if he was mean and scary. He thought if he was nice and loved then they would not fear him and end up taking advantage of him. (doc1) King James also believed absolutism was the way to go. He believed in divine right and that it was the only way to keep the country in order. He thought that kings were like gods and had the power to create or destroy anything that they thought was ineffective.(doc 2) Another person who believed in absolutism was Thomas Hobbes. He believed that people were naturally cruel unless controlled strictly by law. He said that to escape the brutish life people entered into a social contract which was an agreement by which they gave up the state of nature for an organized society. He also supported the Stuart kings in their struggle against parliament.

In a democracy peoples thoughts were heard and used in a government. This government was significant, because it didn't put to much rule in the government. King Louis believed that the peoples interest and the state came first and believed in a democracy.(doc3) Voltaire also recommends a democracy and thought that freedom of speech was essential.(doc4) Voltaire was one of the most famous philosophies thinkers who defended all freedoms of people especially freedom of speech. Even when he offended government and the Catholic Church and his books were burned he still stuck up for freedom of speech and he said "I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it", he...

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...﻿Frank Owens
Mrs. Wilson
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DBQ
What form of government was most effective-democracy or absolutism- for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe?
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were two forms of government. The two forms of government were democracy and absolutism. Both of these forms of government were effective in their own ways. Absolutism though was the most effective during this time. Absolutism is when the ruler has unlimited power. Many rulers had a democracy government but absolutism was more effective because the rulers had all the power and it was hard to take advantage of them rather than a democracy where many rulers can get over thrown by the people of that country.
Machiavelli, who wrote The Prince, felt that the best way to rule was to be feared. He wrote in his book The Prince, “Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved than one who is feared, for love is held by a bond of obligation which, as men are wicked, is broken whenever personal advantage suggests it.” What he means by this is that if you rule by fear people are less likely to defy you than if you rule with love. This would be extremely helpful when running a country.
King James I also believed that absolutism was the way to rule. He thought that kings were like Gods therefore...

...Theresa Petruccio Global
October 15, 2006
DBQAbsolutism and Democracy
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were two forms of government. The two forms of government were democracy and absolutism. Both of these forms of government were effective in there own ways. Absolutism though was the most effective during this time. Absolutism is when the ruler has unlimited power. Many rulers had a democracy government but absolutism was more effective because the rulers had all the power and it was hard to take advantage of them rather then a democracy were many rulers can get over thrown by the people of that country.
Two forms of government that were used during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were democracy and absolutism. Though both of these forms of governments were effective in there own ways, absolutism was more effective. Machiavelli, who wrote The Prince, felt that the best way to rule was to be feared. He wrote in his book The Prince, Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved than one who is feared, for love is held by a bond of obligation which, as men are wicked, is broken whenever personal advantage suggests it (Document 1). King James I also believed that absolutism was the way to rule. He thought that kings were...

...DBQ 5: Absolutism
In a rule using suppression, backed up by the claim to divine authority, an absolute monarchy embodies the omnipotent government reign. Such power was given solely to the head of the state without any constituted restraints. During the Reformation up to the seventeenth century, Europe’s social system started to have conflict as to whether absolute power should be appointed to the king. The king’s subjects, mostly nobles, supported their kings right to absolute power because they got the benefit of political leadership roles and were also given royal protection. The common-folk and the servants were against it because absolutism abused the power in ruling over the peasants as the king, which tended to be restricting.
Certain factors of absolutism with the ideals of the nobility would bring strength to the economy that was based on domestic and foreign trade, land holdings, a centralized government, and an increase in military fortitude. The upper class invested their fortunes into becoming political leaders and to serve by the king. Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the French Minister of Finance, advised King Louis XIV to pursue the conditions of domestic and foreign trade. With a surplus of money came a surplus of labor, his people were able to earn a living and travel across the waters for profit. Money is the foundation of any world order; if the nation has a solid foundation, then the benefit of the...

...Victoria Eppler
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DBQ: Absolutism and Democracy
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there were two forms of government in Europe: absolutism, which gave unlimited power to the monarchs, and democracy, which gave power to the people. Which was more effective for this time period? Well, while both absolutism and democracy had their strengths and weaknesses, absolutism was more effective during this time. Machiavelli, who wrote The Prince, King Louis XIV of France, and King James I of England all believed absolutism to be most effective.
Machiavelli felt it was best to be feared, not loved. He believed that if you trusted others, they would eventually disobey you. In his book The Prince, Machiavelli wrote, “For all men in general this observation may be made: they are ungrateful, fickle, and deceitful, eager to avoid dangers, and avid for gain, and while you are useful to them they are all with you, but when it [danger] approaches they turn on you. Any prince, trusting only in their works and having no other preparations made, will fall to ruin, for friendships that are bought at a price and not by greatness and nobility of soul are paid for indeed, but they are not owned and cannot be called upon in time of need. Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved...

...DBQ
There were many forms of government through the 17th and 18th century. Two forms of government that were mainly used; were democracy and absolutism. Both of these government types were affective in their own ways, but also had various similarities and differences. Philosophers also helped with changing 17th and 18th century Europeans way of thinking; and view the teachings of the Catholic Church.
One of the more common forms of government was absolutism. Rulers believed they should have complete control over the country. An excerpt in document 1 states that Prince Machiavelli believed the best way to rule was to be aggressive and feared and thought that the only way the citizen would follow his rule was if he emulated his power and social status. He thought that if he showed kindness and generosity that he would be overthrown. Most of the monarchs believed in divine right, this meant that they thought that they were chosen by God to rule. One of rulers that believed in divine right was King James 1st, his ideas were expressed in document 2 one of his quotes: “….God has the power to create and destroy, make or unmake” this implies that he thinks divine right is the only way to lead by.
Many others think that democracy is the superior form of government. One of these people, Voltaire, preferred democracy as their Method of rule. In document 4 Voltaire expressed his...

...Mike Chang 11/1/08 Mrs. Lee Global DBQ
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were two main forms of government. The two main forms of government were democracy and absolutism. Both of these types of government were effective in there own ways. Absolutism was the most effective type of government during that time period. Absolutism is when the ruler has complete authority over the government and the lives of the people of their nation. Many rulers had a democracy government but absolutism was more effective because the rulers had all the power and it was hard to take advantage of them instead of a democracy where many rulers can get over thrown by the people of that country.
Two forms of government that were used during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were democracy and absolutism. Both of these forms of governments were effective in there own ways, absolutism was more effective. Machiavelli wrote "The Prince" which was a simply a textbook on monarchy. He said the best way to rule was to be feared. Machiavelli wrote in his book that "Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved than one who is feared, for love is held by a bond of obligation which, as men are wicked, is broken whenever personal advantage suggests it" (Document 1). King James I also believed that absolutism...

...A democracy is when the common people are considered as the primary source of political power. Although democracy and absolutism had advantages and disadvantages, democracy was a more effective type of government for it limited royal power and protected the rights of the people socially, politically, and economically. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tension arose between the two different types of governments, the democracy and absolute monarchs.
The enlightenment was a great period of establishment of democracy. Throughout the enlightenment there were philosophes who believed greatly in a democratic government. Some of the most familiar philosophes were Voltaire, John Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. Each one of these philosophes were humanists and believed in natural rights. John Locke quotes an example of natural rights in document 5. Locke states in this document that all men are born with the natural rights of life liberty, and property, the government is to protect these rights, and if the government chooses not to protect these rights, the people have the power to overthrow the government. Freedom of speech and religion were crucial beliefs in the mind of Voltaire. In doc. 4, he is quoted "I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This quote evidently states Voltaire's strong faith in freedom of speech. Freedom of...

...Democracy vs. Absolutism
During the 1500’s there was a debate if the government should be Absolutism, or Democracy. There both really good ways to live but Democracy had a better limit. Democracy gave the people and the government freedom of speech, it limited the power of the government, and it protected them. Absolutism had a absolute monarch running the country.
Democracy gave the people freedom of speech. Everyone deserves to speak their mind. Voltaire said “I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. Voltaire believed that the people should have the right to speak when they feel like they need to say something, not when others say they can, or when they do speak they get punished for not saying the right thing. Everyone deserves to be able to speak there mind and be protected when they do. Having Democracy rule would limit the power of the government, so “there can be no liberty where executive, legislative, &amp; judicial powers are united in one person or body of persons, because such concentration is bound to result in arbitrary despotism” said Montesquieu. Limiting the power of government was better for the people because the people had more rights to the government its self. Democracy made a government that is strong and ready to protect the...